Bipolar transistors are much used in modern electronics as individual devices and as part of various integrated circuits (ICs). It is often necessary to adjust (e.g., to “tune”) the properties of particular bipolar transistors to suit specific applications, for example and not intended to be limiting, to adjust one or more of the gain, Early voltage, breakdown voltages, current carrying capacity, high-side capability, etc. It is sometimes the case that improving one property (e.g., gain), can adversely affect other properties (e.g., Early voltage and/or breakdown voltage, etc.). This is undesirable. In the prior art it has been customary to tune the properties of particular devices by, for example, adjusting the doping profiles. However, in large scale production this may not be practical since manufacturing optimization and cost considerations often limit the variations in doping profiles that can be used in the manufacturing sequence for a particular semiconductor device or IC. This is especially a concern when both bipolar devices and field effect (e.g., CMOS) devices are being formed in the same manufacturing process. Accordingly, a need continues to exist for improved bipolar transistors and methods for manufacturing the same.